Lost? Or simply wandering?

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This clearing truly was a great place to relax. The clearing was quiet, only disturbed by the mild noises one can find in the wild. The sun's rays were gently covering the clearing and making the pure water glint with their brilliance. A gentle breeze traveled through the air, soothing all who walk in the hot, unshaded areas by caressing their bodies. And for some reason, the breeze carried with it some bubbles. The pond was surrounded by trees that stood tall and proud, their leaves slowly but surely returning to them with the season of Spring. While the clearing seemed devoid of life, one would only need to follow the direction of the bubbles to find the source of their creation.

Sitting on a branch of a tree surrounding the pond, one can see a dark blue creature leaning against the trunk. Its eyes had a sickly yellow color in them and were surrounded by black marking. The creature's cheeks were orange, expanding and contracting as it breathed in and out, joined with a croaking sound. Its chest possessed a black ring and white bands, with the feet and hands being of a black color, its middle fingers being orange. In one of its hands the creature held a long, thin pipe, the source of the bubbles whenever the Pokémon blew in its pipe. One of its legs was hung over the branch, lazily going back and forth.

The Pokémon, a Croagunk, was truly at bliss in the clearing. No annoying orders, no rushed travels, just him and the relaxing calmness that was spread over the pond. As he blew on his pipe, the Croagunk contemplated his next action. 'Hmmm, perhaps I should have taken the left path instead. Certainly, I wouldn't have found this spot but at least I would have been productive.' The Croagunk sighed, a mix of satisfaction and frustration in the exhale of air, before he took his pipe again.'I guess I'll just stay here until the sun sets. That way I can relax and be productive. Yes, that's a good idea.' With that thought, the Croagunk put his pipe away and lowered his eyelids, planning on taking a good nap. He oh so hoped he wouldn't be disturbed, or at least not be disturbed for no reason.

Avery simply listened patiently to the Buizel as it started to confess about its less than enjoyable childhood. The more the Buizel talked, the more Avery believed his previous thought was an understatement. From what he could piece together, Avery was certain that the Water type had little to no pleasant days it could remember. He disapproved of the twin tailed Pokémon's parent's upbringing as well as the other Buizels' 'fun' they had with him. It seemed they did not realize that the line between putting someone down and motivating someone was very thin and easily traversed. Had his parents decided to stand up for the Buizel, it might have felt more obligated to do his best. A parent's acceptance was everything to a child. Without that, it was no mystery to Avery just why the Buizel had such little self-esteem. When the tale was over, Avery closed his eyes and kept silent. The only sound he made were the croaking sacks that were his cheeks.

After a few moments of silence, Avery opened his eyes and looked the Buizel in the eyes. "Let me start with stating that I do not approve of Pokémon running away from their problems. Though I do believe you are to be cut a desirable amount of slack. You did after all have no one to confide to." He started with a casual voice, and while his visage remained neutral one could see the barest hint of a grin on his face if looked at closely. "While you were incapable of dealing much damage to my person, the fact you forced me to use my strongest attack and combo deserves some praise. Perhaps that is why the others had taken to bullying you. They might have seen a threat in your person, might have seen the potential you may carry. Thus they opted to belittle you so that you would not pose them any problems."

He blew a stream of bubbles up in the sky, ignoring whatever expression the Buizel may carry on its face. Then he slowly pushed himself from the ground, never turning his back to the Water type, nor fully facing it. "I do not know, and I doubt I ever will. The one thing I do know is that you can prove all of them wrong in a very simple manner. By becoming so strong that your name will be adored and feared, depending on who utters it."

Pausing for another few seconds to let the words sink in, Avery then turned towards the Buizel. "Well then, I do suppose it you promised to guide to and through Grassveil Town. Are you capable of standing by yourself, or do you prefer to rest and regain your strength?

Jet honestly felt like a load had been taken off of his shoulders after finally confessing everything about his past to somebody. He had yet to even talk to Lee, his Froakie friend and hopefully future Guildmate about it. Then again, the Froakie didn't really seem like he cared that much about his past, so he never really had a chance to say anything about it. Now, however...he felt like he could fully trust this Croagunk. It was an odd thought, to say the least, since he barely even knew him. They had literally shared one battle and a very brief time in conversation. But now he supposed wasn't the best time to be thinking too much on it.

He looked back up at Avery as the Croagunk started talking again. He met his gaze and listened intently to what the Croagunk had to say. At first, he slumped slightly, realizing that Avery was completely right; he had simply been running away from his problems at the time. Would it have simply been better, then, if he had stayed and endured until he was older and could rightfully leave on his own? However, his thoughts soon changed as he continued to listen to the Croagunk's words, now regarding the battle that he two had just shared. His eyes widened as he listened to the praise that was being directed at him. He honestly couldn't help but feel that perhaps Avery was simply being too nice to him simply because of the sob story he had just told. After all, he had just been completely flattened by him, hadn't he? But he certainly still made a very good point. Could he really have had that kind of potential? And could the others back home have been kicking him around simply hoping that he would never realize it? He certainly couldn't deny the possibility.

Jet was completely silent as he observed the Croagunk blowing bubbles from the pipe again. He stared at the Croagunk for a moment longer before looking straight forward, staring in silence as he thought about everything that had been said. "Maybe...you're right," he replied. "Heh...although I certainly have my doubts. I mean...a Pokémon as weak as I am couldn't possibly have THAT much potential, right...?" He then chuckled a little bit, mostly to make himself feel better after putting himself down. "But you're definitely right that I can get strong and prove them all wrong like you said. That's why I came here and why I want to join the Guild. I know that they have put out some fantastic teams...and I want to be part of one of them. And that way, I can help other Pokémon that are being pushed around who can't defend themselves like I was. That's all I really care about, to be honest. I just want to help others who might be in the same boat as I am right now."

He then smiled to himself. This talk had been a good one. He felt renewed now...and he felt a little bit more confident than he had at the beginning of the day. Maybe that idea wasn't as far-fetched as he once thought it had been.

When Avery stood up again, Jet soon followed suit...although with a little bit more effort. "Heheh...no, I think I can walk," he replied, his smile more bright than it was a little bit ago. "Thank you for the concern, though. And...for the spar and everything. I think it did me a world of good." He then paused for a moment. "...Er...but I'm still new to the town, so there's little that I know of it. I'm not sure I'll be able to help you much, but I have done a little bit of exploring on my own, so I should have some idea." He then bowed his upper body somewhat in a show of respect. When he righted himself again, he added. "I would be honored to show you what I do know."

Avery merely waved the Buizel's own doubts away with his free hand. "Everyone has potential, some more than others. Some find it easier to pull it out, while others struggle their whole life to realize it." He then gained a deadpanned expression, which was probably one of the most discerning looks a Croagunk could possess. "Indeed, you can't have that much potential. After all, your previous living environment had such a positive influence on you that you could utilize it from the get go and this is everything." If emotions could be given a physical form, then the Croagunk's sentence would be dripping sarcasm into the ground like a waterfall does with, well water. He soon regained his neutral visage and raised an eyebrow at the Buizel's next course of action. "Interesting, I was planning on joining the Guild as well. See what it has in store and hope to succeed its trials. Though I have to admit my goals are less... noble than yours." His declaration was given with a shrug, because his main reason to become an Explorer would be for the rewards. The happiness and gratitude of his clients would simply be an extra as far as Avery was truly concerned. Or a liability if they overreacted with the positive emotions.

He chuckled at the Buizel's attempts to stand on his own, and simply nodded at him in gratitude before blowing another stream of bubbles. "I suppose you can either show me around the town, or guide me to the Guild. Do lead the way." He did not act pompous about the fact the Buizel found it an 'honor' go guide him. If it felt that way, then the feeling must be misplaced. He did blink though as he seemed to recall something. "That reminds me. What is your name?"

Jet said nothing to Avery when he first started talking. He felt as though continuing the conversation at that point was a bit pointless. At least, that part of the conversation. He didn't think that he had much potential to him, despite the Croagunk still insisting that he may very well be otherwise. And responding to sarcasm was not something he did very often, as he felt that it only invited more trouble. However, the Croagunk soon said something interesting to him. "Wait, you want to join the Guild too...?" he asked with a small smile. "My other friend and I were thinking about making a team soon. I suppose I can tell you more about that on the way, though." With that, he nodded and turned to start walking away from the pond, destination set in his mind to Grassveil.

However, when Avery asked about his name, Jet blushed slightly. He had just been reminded that the same question had been asked of him before, but he had never given Avery a proper answer. "O-oh yeah, I...I guess I kind of forgot to let you in on that, didn't I...?" he asked, clearly slightly flustered and embarrassed. "B-but my name is Jet. It's nice to meet you." He then paused for a moment before adding, "...W-well, formally anyway."

Avery simply chuckled at the embarrassment the at last identified Jet was feeling. It seemed that any courage he had received from the fight left as soon as the fight was over and a conversation was going on. Or was that simply because he had never introduced himself even when asked? Oh well, Avery would simply go with the flow and deal with the Buizel and its antics a later time. Now he just wanted a place to rest for the night, and he was quite certain the Town could provide him that. "That might indeed be quite interesting. But I do believe we have been idle long enough. Seeing as I don't know the way, I'll need you to take the first step though." A grin was on his face as he awaited his guide to take charge of the situation.

Jet simply nodded in response to Avery's words. "Oh yeah, sure I can start us off then," he replied, seeming more comfortable with Avery now than he had been before when they had first met. In all honesty, he sort of wanted to hang out with this Croagunk for a bit longer anyway. He seemed to be just as strong as Lee, if not more so. He would have to see if he couldn't find the Froakie somewhere in the town while they walked. it might certainly be interesting if the two of them would meet and actually like each other. It would be great if Lee would even go so far as to let Avery join them. But...it was completely up to Lee and he wasn't absolutely certain if he would do it. But Croagunk WAS a darkly-colored Pokémon, so maybe it was possible he was more ninja-like than himself. And he was certainly really strong. There was only one way to find out, though....

With that, he nodded and started walking in front of Avery. He took his first steps away from the Small Pond, heading straight for Grassveil.